While old school wrestling purists will peg Gordon Solie as the all-time greatest play-by-play commentator; wrestling fans from the past decade and a half will have no qualms agreeing that Jim Ross holds that honor.

Jim Ross, who made his WWF debut at WrestleMania IX, officially retired on September 11, 2013.

Former on-screen rival Michael Cole shakes Jim Ross’ hand.

Now before you get into the crazy conspiracy theories and trail off into a tangent of Roswell and Area 51, this post is not about the 2K Sports symposium that took place during SummerSlam weekend. This is about a man who hung up his broadcasting headset, and quietly bowed out of the crazy world of professional wrestling.

As far as Monday Night RAW is concerned, the flagship show that Ross captained as its lead play-by-play commentator, there was no mention of his retirement. There were no snide remarks from J.R.’s former rival Michael Cole, who has since taken on the role as the “Voice of the WWE”.

WWE has both been a blessing and a curse for Jim Ross who, over the years, has been subjective to storylines he wasn’t comfortable with: He had been privy to two failed heel gimmicks; he kissed Mr. McMahon’s ass; he had been continually fired and rehired; and he was unceremoniously drafted to the SmackDown show without any prior notice–ending his 12 year run on RAW.

But since his departure from the broadcast booth in October 2009, J.R. has played a crucial role in the future of the WWE. He’s worked alongside WWE C.O.O. Triple H as an advisor and scout within Talent Relations, and has coached and trained new announcers in WWE’s Performance Center in Florida.

We can all list a plethora of great memories involving “Good Ole” J.R. without straining ourselves; because that’s how great Jim Ross was at his job. The man was a consummate professional and treated the product with credibility.

Not everyone can do that, just listen to Kevin Kelly’s dry commentary on Ring of Honor broadcasts. He sounds like he’s reading from a script. “Oh… BJ Whitmer got hit with a piledriver on the ring apron…” As if the piledriver was nothing to get excited about; not as if the piledriver hasn’t been proven to be professional wrestling’s most dangerous move.

Just to note, BJ Whitmer did suffer loss of feeling in his right leg and arm, with the entire right side of his body going numb as a result from that piledriver.

One of my favorite J.R. memories has to be when, at WrestleMania XXVIII, he returned to call the “End of and Era” match between Triple H and The Undertaker. It was per Taker’s request that J.R. called that match, which speaks volumes of how well-respected he is in the wrestling locker room.

We will always remember J.R. for his distinct voice, his professionalism, the credibility he brought to each match he called, his catchphrases, and his signature hat. (And Barbecue Sauce).

We will all miss “Good Ole” J.R. – “Good God Almighty!”

Answer the Question: Did Jim Ross retire or did WWE force Jim Ross to retire to save face after the 2K Sports symposium fiasco with Ric Flair during SummerSlam weekend?

Liked this post? Then share it! And once you’re done letting the millions and millions know of WrestlingTimesX on WordPress, follow WrestlingTimesX across social media!

For the first time in the company’s history, Ring of Honor is without an ROH World Champion. The final title holder was Jay Briscoe, who was stripped of the World championship on July 3rd due to contractual issues. ROH Commissioner Nigel McGuinness made the announcement on Ring of Honor’s YouTube channel, as well as the announcement of a 16-man tournament to crown a new Ring of Honor World champion.

Originally it was believed that Michael Elgin, the no. 1 contender, would be given the title. But instead, Elgin insisted that the ROH World title needed to be earned and agreed to partake in the tournament. Since Ring of Honor is now without a World champion, McGuinness stated that more emphasis would be placed on the World Tag Team championships.

Around this time last year, interestingly enough, the ROH World Tag Team championships were vacated due to a contract dispute with Kenny King, who appeared on a live broadcast of TNA’s IMPACT Wrestling. Ring of Honor’s constant issues with contracts with its talents lead to its greatest threat when Steve Corino and Jimmy Jacobs won the vacant titles–the team known as S.C.U.M. (Suffering, Chaos, Ugliness, and Mayhem).

Lead by “Mr. Wrestling” Kevin Steen, the man whose had the most issues with contracts, and, at the time, the reigning ROH World champion, S.C.U.M. terrorized the ROH Company with the agenda to destroy it as a whole. S.C.U.M. grew in size, as do most wrestling stables with a common agenda, adding Rhino to the fold.

However, Kevin Steen was ousted from S.C.U.M. after losing the World title to Jay and was replaced by new S.C.U.M. members Cliff Compton, Jimmy Rave, Rhett Titus, and centerpiece Matt Hardy. Cornio became the new leader and dangerously forced Ring of Honor to its extinction.

That was until Corino’s hubris got the better of him, and issued a challenge to Ring of Honor: S.C.U.M. vs Team ROH in a Steel Cage Warfare match. If ROH loses, they must surrender all control over to Steve Corino; but if S.C.U.M. loses, they must disband forever.

Kevin Steen, who has never been a pro-ROH guy especially due to the shady business of former Commissioner Jim Cornette, demanded from McGuinness to be placed on Team ROH. After weeks of matches against members of S.C.U.M., Kevin Steen earned his spot on Team ROH, and eventually earned the winning pinfall that disbanded S.C.U.M. forever.

Kevin Kelly, the lead commentator, shouted throughout the broadcast that Honor Lived, but it seems like Ring of Honor still has a long road of restoration ahead of them. In two weeks, the tournament will commence to crown a new ROH World champion; but in the meantime we still have the ROH World Tag Team championships.

The Ring of Honor episode following Steel Cage Warfare, the defending ROH World Tag Team champions reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly) lost the titles to the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero and Alex Koslov).

Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards, two-former ROH World champions, chose not to enlist in the ROH World championship tournament because they wanted to focus and reclaim the ROH World Tag Team championships. So down the line, if not soon, expect The American Wolves vs Forever Hooligans for the titles.

Answer the Questions: Does Honor Live in Ring of Honor? Thoughts of Jay Briscoe being stripped of the ROH World championship?

Liked this post? Then share it! And once you’re done letting the millions and millions know of WrestlingTimesX on WordPress, follow WrestlingTimesX across social media!

Welcome back to The Wrestling Times! Earlier in the week the news broke out that Ring of Honor Wrestling was sold to Sinclair Broadcast Company. Former ROH owner Cary Silkin had this to say, “We have been waiting for and working for this opportunity for quite some time, and of our 9 years in business, there has been no better roster of wrestlers than this one to expose the ROH product to the masses. With Sinclair’s resources and many avenues of distribution, we believe many new fans around the world will be as captivated as those who have followed Ring of Honor over the years.” So let’s discuss what this means to us, the wrestling fans.

First off, Cary Silkin, along with Jim Cornette,Delirious, Dave Prazak, and Kevin Kelly, will remain with ROH. They have promised that ROH will not convert to the Sport’s Entertainment format; and it will continue touring its usual venues, while adding new ones along the way. Whew! All good things to hear.

But that’s not all! This Fall, ROH is set to debut a weekly televised program. So for the fans that heavily petitioned for a television station to pick them up: Mission Accomplished.

So what does this all mean? Better exposure, better production value, and a better opportunity to reach new fans. But if you don’t happen to live in a market with a Sinclair station, don’t worry because Mr. Silkin stated, “Through our revamped website we will be able to make the TV show available to anyone in the world with internet access.” That sounds great to me, Cary.

Then depending on how successful the product is, ROH would be able to afford to keep their talents. And unlike the unruly spending tactics of TNA Wrestling, Ring of Honor currently does not have to worry about any ego-driven, money-grubbing veterans of yesteryear to short change the rest of the roster. But, in order to get more people interested in the product, ROH probably, and will, resort to bringing in former WWE/TNA wrestlers.

Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s voting landscapes should experience some drastic changes now that ROH will be more widely available.

Many assume that WWE is the be-all end-all of professional wrestling, and the million or so fans that tune in every Thursday to catch Impact Wrestling in need of an alternative, can find it with Ring of Honor.

The first official step towards a bigger, badder, and better ROH will occur the afternoon of June 26th when Ring of Honor returns to NYC on iPPV – “Best in the World 2011.” On this day, all champions will defend their titles. This means ROH World Heavyweight Champion Eddie Edwards, ROH World TV Champion Christopher Daniels, and ROH World Tag Team Champions Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin will put their gold on the line.

And it’s not to say that ROH is the be-all end-all of pro wrestling’s alternative, it’s a prime example that there is more out there than the Top Two. After listening to Colt Cabana’s podcast with Excalibur, it sparked my interest in Pro Wrestling Guerrila, stationed out in Los Angeles. And when the funds are available, I’ll definitely check out some of their DVDs (available at HighSpots.com). Speaking of alternatives, NWA Hollywood episodes are available on its homepage (NWAHollywood.com), including the episode when Cabana won the NWA Heavyweight Championship.

There is just so much more out there in the world of professional wrestling, take the time to explore other companies, including (but not limited to) ROH, NWA Hollywood, PWG, SHIMMER Women’s Athletes, Women Superstars Uncensored, Chikara, Dragon Gate USA, and Evolve.

That’s it for this post. What does Ring of Honor Wrestling being bought by Sinclair Broadcast Company mean to you? What do you hope to gain from this? Please jot them down in the comment box, or send me a line on twitter. My twitter handler is WrestlingTimesX. There are also some nifty share buttons on the bottom: Spread the word!